Grandfather Clock

As I got off the bus on a recent morning, I looked at the clock tower on Albany City Hall.  The hands were missing from the clock face.

My first thoughts were of Captain Kangeroo.  I watched that show regularly as a child.  I vividly remember the eerie feeling I got whenever Grandfather Clock, a regular talking character, was missing from his place in the corner.  Captain would explain that he was 'out for repairs', but I felt an acute sense of loss, as if Grandfather had been abducted or disappeared.  What's wrong with him? We should all be worried, Captain! What does Mr. Moose or Bunny Rabbit think, how will they act without their friend?

The missing clock left a tall section of faded paint in the corner.  It  reminded me of death, as if a favorite dog was no longer wagging its way around the house.

So it felt strange when I saw the empty clock face on the City Hall tower.  The perfect brown circle only had a dot in the middle, an analog device missing one long arm and one short, no numbers around its borders to measure against.  A lost face, no longer marking our day.